Too much exercise?

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awcforever
awcforever Posts: 20 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
So I've been trying to maintain a continuous weight loss over the past few months and hit a plateau recently at 245lbs to 250lbs. I upped my exercise game another 100% and now I'm doing about 6hrs a day in addition to my job which is fairly physical. Anyway, a friend who is very into training and crossfit, I'd say overall very reliable information wise told me that I'm going at it in overkill mode and may be causing some hormone imbalance with low calories and high activity.

Could this in fact be a contribution to my current plateau? I'm 31, 6' tall, 247 lbs and I'm at about 1900 calories a day currently. I recently cut back from 2350 calories as I thought maybe that was the cause.
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  • StealthHealth
    StealthHealth Posts: 2,417 Member
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    Way too much. I'd say that 6 hours per week was a better target.
  • gc384
    gc384 Posts: 33 Member
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    I used to do 5 hours a day for boxing, 1 hour running in morning, 2 hours boxing circuits/technique in afternoon, then 2 hours circuits and sparring in evening. That was for fighting and I never gained muscle as I was burning so much off to keep weight down- was skinny and under a healthy weight.

    There is no way you're doing 6 hours training a day and being the size you are in your photo. Or if you ARE doing 6 hours, its very low activity.

    If you're not in training for any sport etc, then I'd suggest working alot harder for a 2 hour training session. Full blast.
  • nclenic
    nclenic Posts: 1 Member
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    I do heavy weights mon wed fri with 40 mins incline on treadmill and HIT tues thurs sat. I used to do 2 hours if cardio every day I ended up burning out. Take a week off or reduce the weights and go light. I go quality or quantity it has to be something I can maintain. Good luck
  • awcforever
    awcforever Posts: 20 Member
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    Wow, thanks for the input! My routine consists of:
    - 1 mile hike / jog in the morning before work
    - .5 mile uphill interval sprint walk at about 9am
    - At lunch I do a 2 mile mountain climb about a 800 ft elevation
    - After work is another 1 mile hike to the place I park
    - then when I get home I do mixed calisthenics for about an hour
    - finally I do a low intensity jog / walk around my town which is about 4 miles.

    I usually top out the evening between 25k and 30k steps on the fit bit. Thats where I'm a bit grey though because fitbit is saying I'm burning like 4500 calories a day so I cut that in half and shot for 2300 but backed down to 1900 recently due to lack of results.

    My last weigh in where I lost weight was about a month ago. I started on March 1st and as of a month ago I've lost 62.5lbs. I now bounce between 245 and 250. I'd like to be around 225 or 230
  • cinnag4225
    cinnag4225 Posts: 126 Member
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    Since I don't see any comments regarding it, your calorie intake is actually very low for a 6' man. Maintenance is about 2,500 daily, and loss should be between 2,100 and 2,300. It's possible that you simply aren't exercising as intensely as you think because your body doesn't have the energy for it.

    Another thing to watch for is your sodium intake. If it's high you'll retain more water, contributing to the plateau/gain.
  • awcforever
    awcforever Posts: 20 Member
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    cinnag4225 wrote: »
    Since I don't see any comments regarding it, your calorie intake is actually very low for a 6' man. Maintenance is about 2,500 daily, and loss should be between 2,100 and 2,300. It's possible that you simply aren't exercising as intensely as you think because your body doesn't have the energy for it.

    Another thing to watch for is your sodium intake. If it's high you'll retain more water, contributing to the plateau/gain.

    I agree with your numbers, I researched my maintenance as well, and I tried to work around that to find some balance but here I am, lol. I think I'm going to do a reboot for the weekend and go back to 2400 and bust out some very high intensity for some research numbers.

    We'll see, I'm going to up my fats as well since i am running VERY low lately on that. I'll post my numbers when I get a chance to give a little better Idea of my current status
  • singletrackmtbr
    singletrackmtbr Posts: 644 Member
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    Something else is in play here. Are you consistently and accurately measuring your food? This is typically the biggest issue. After awhile people get tired to doing this and start to eyeball things instead.

    I'm guessing you're a type A based upon how you're managing things. Stress increases cortisol production which can sabotage your efforts. Pull it back, do a reasonable amount of exercise, and find some balance.

    Are you eating back all your exercise calories? It's pretty well documented that measured calorie burn is all over the map, and shouldn't be taken as gospel.

    Just some random thoughts from my brain. Hope you get back on track!
  • MarkusDarwath
    MarkusDarwath Posts: 393 Member
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    I will second that 1900 calories is not enough for your size and activity level. I'm not too far off from you in size (6'1" and just hit 261# this morning) and I'm consistently losing 2 - 3 pounds per week on 2200 calories with no exercise beyond work (self-employed electrician/handyman and part time custodian). You are probably retaining water due to stressing your body with not quite enough nutrition. I think other posters are right, increase your calories above 2000 and cut your exercise time back a lot, but up the intensity of what you do. It might also be time to add some weight lifting. The exercise you listed seems to all be cardio/stamina/body weight.
  • awcforever
    awcforever Posts: 20 Member
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    singletrackmtbr wrote: »
    Something else is in play here. Are you consistently and accurately measuring your food? This is typically the biggest issue. After awhile people get tired to doing this and start to eyeball things instead.

    I'm guessing you're a type A based upon how you're managing things. Stress increases cortisol production which can sabotage your efforts. Pull it back, do a reasonable amount of exercise, and find some balance.

    Are you eating back all your exercise calories? It's pretty well documented that measured calorie burn is all over the map, and shouldn't be taken as gospel.

    Just some random thoughts from my brain. Hope you get back on track!

    I don't eat my exercise calories. I set my goal and stay there regardless of activity. I think it just may not be enough like you guys were saying
  • awcforever
    awcforever Posts: 20 Member
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    MarkusDarwath wrote: »
    I will second that 1900 calories is not enough for your size and activity level. I'm not too far off from you in size (6'1" and just hit 261# this morning) and I'm consistently losing 2 - 3 pounds per week on 2200 calories with no exercise beyond work (self-employed electrician/handyman and part time custodian). You are probably retaining water due to stressing your body with not quite enough nutrition. I think other posters are right, increase your calories above 2000 and cut your exercise time back a lot, but up the intensity of what you do. It might also be time to add some weight lifting. The exercise you listed seems to all be cardio/stamina/body weight.

    That is a good thought. I'm not doing too much with weights other than a kettle ball for my calisthenics. My workout usually consists of 5 sets of dips, 5 sets of burpees, various planks, 5 sets of push ups, 5 sets of leg lifts, I have about an hour of tv time and I repeat that. Of course my cardio which takes up the blunt of my active time.

    I tell ya, it has kind of blown my mind a bit. Everything was smooth sailing and then boom. Really weird
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,868 Member
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    Six hours a day of exercise is beyond overkill...you're stressing your body big time which is going to jack with your hormones...you also are seriously in risk of injury and overtrain, particularly as you're not adequately feeding that activity.

    Just stop the nonsense and get on a structured exercise program that includes fitness goals independent of losing weight...I can tell you right now that you are actually doing more harm than good where your actual fitness is concerned doing this crazy *kitten* *kitten*.
  • MarkusDarwath
    MarkusDarwath Posts: 393 Member
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    awcforever wrote: »
    I tell ya, it has kind of blown my mind a bit. Everything was smooth sailing and then boom. Really weird


    I had that happen 3 or 4 years ago on a previous attempt to hit my goal weight. I dropped 30 pounds in 3 months then just hit a dead standstill. Took over a year to drop another 10 to 15. At the time I was doing 2500 calories per day and not being as careful with my food logging.. was doing it on paper trying to figure things out on my own, and was mostly eyeballing instead of weighing and measuring, but I was also going a bit overkill on exercise. Two different fitness classes, running and tai chi. Ended up getting burned out and running short of time, energy and money about 20 pounds short of my goal. Gained it all back, plus a few and here I am now.
  • awcforever
    awcforever Posts: 20 Member
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    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    Six hours a day of exercise is beyond overkill...you're stressing your body big time which is going to jack with your hormones...you also are seriously in risk of injury and overtrain, particularly as you're not adequately feeding that activity.

    Just stop the nonsense and get on a structured exercise program that includes fitness goals independent of losing weight...I can tell you right now that you are actually doing more harm than good where your actual fitness is concerned doing this crazy *kitten* *kitten*.

    A big 10-4 on that. Another little tidbit that may or may not be helpful is I'm fairly sure in the dictionary under the term ADHD there is a blurry picture of me because I couldn't stand still long enough to pose for the picture. I'm just hyper....contrary to how my posts sound I'm not in pain or anything. I'm genuinely enjoying myself for the most part other than lack of sleep and uphill sprints...lol. Seriously though, my workouts sound crazy time wise, but only about 40-50% of that is high intensity, the rest is just purely for the burn so to speak.

    I've done training on and off over the years to stay healthy, but currently I'm trying to drop a little excess baggage and fine tune a manageable, sustainable routine. I am a genetically large guy. Before this ordeal I was over 310lbs and I didnt look obese or even unhealthy, just a big dude. My current goal is to be "fit" if that means anything relative. A little leaner and healthier and quick on my feet.

    I thank everyone for the insight......seriously a lot of help and I've got some ideas for my routine. Anything more is greatly appreciated.....
  • Tedebearduff
    Tedebearduff Posts: 1,155 Member
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    If it helps you put things into perspective at all, I turned my focus to recovery instead of hours of exercise. I went from lifting for 2.5 hours a day + 1 hour of cardio to working out for 60-70 minutes a day with 0 cardio.

    You'd think I'd of gained weight.... but I had 40lbs just fall off of me in no time while doing less.
  • awcforever
    awcforever Posts: 20 Member
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    Tedebearduff wrote: »
    If it helps you put things into perspective at all, I turned my focus to recovery instead of hours of exercise. I went from lifting for 2.5 hours a day + 1 hour of cardio to working out for 60-70 minutes a day with 0 cardio.

    You'd think I'd of gained weight.... but I had 40lbs just fall off of me in no time while doing less.

    Hmm, sounds interesting. I'm starting something new tonight to see how it goes. I'm sure everyone has heard of Tabatas, thats what I'm going to do in the evenings now and cut out some of the cardio. Never done it, but I've got a pretty good arrangement laid out
  • LauraGrove1
    LauraGrove1 Posts: 11 Member
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    There is no way you're doing 6 hours training a day and being the size you are in your photo. Or if you ARE doing 6 hours, its very low activity.
    @gc 384

    Your statement isn't correct. I am training to become a fighter and regularly train 4-7 hours daily in Muay Thai, Brazilian jiu jitsu, weights, swimming, cardio etc. I am in the process of bringing down my weight but still need to get down 30 pounds. It is possible to train hard and still not be down to the right size and hit plateaus. I've been training like this for months (very sustainable when you're enjoying it). Many times it is a calorie deficit. With the amount of calories I burn I still have to eat about 2500 calories a day to still lose weight and not get lightheaded during training and I am a good 70 lbs smaller than awcforever. Try upping your calorie intake with nutritious foods.

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